5 Easy Tricks With Approach Notes That Will Make You Sound Like a Pro

Ever wonder how the best players seem to improvise brilliant lines without any effort? All while you’re struggling to make even the simplest chord tones sound good. If you’re like most players you know this frustration. However, the solution doesn’t lie with a hidden secret or advanced music theory – it all goes back to the musical foundation that you already know.

By now you should be able to visualize the root and chord tones of any chord.

But knowing this information is only the starting point. The trick lies in making music out of these harmonic building blocks.

So how do you start with the basic notes of a chord and turn them into a solo that sounds good? How do you transform a few boring triads into music that people actually want to listen to??

As you’ll soon see, the gap between memorized theory and musical solos is closer than you think – you just need to know a few tricks.

It’s all about your approach…

Many of the complex lines that you hear in your favorite solos aren’t based on fancy scales.

Or even complex chords…

They are rooted in the basic structures found in every common chord: the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th.

One way improvisers create complex lines with limited material is through the use of chromatic approach notes.

For example listen to the opening of Dizzy Gillespie’s arrangement of Blue n’ Boogie:

You see, we write a ton of articles, some of which you probably know and love - articles that explore the intricacies of jazz improvisation in a way that you may have not thought about before, giving you the advice you need to break through your plateau...

Occasionally, we'll go into even more detail. But this extra special content is just for our premium members.

You can unlock access to all of this premium content, too. It takes less than a minute and it's only $5 a month.

When you sign up for premium, you'll get:

Unrestricted access to every article on the site

Embedded member-only article content

Ability to print out any article as a customizable PDF for your practice room

Good karma knowing you're keeping Jazzadvice alive!

And, a whole lot more to come...

And here's the truth…

We almost gave up multiple times. Closed shop. Took the site down and called it quits. We've been really close a few times. You have to make some difficult decisions when you're doing something you love.

But we pushed through and kept going. And now with your help, we're rising to the challenge to make Jazzadvice even better!

So if you've ever shared one of our articles, or if you've ever learned something new from us that inspired you, propelled your playing forward, saved you from quitting or throwing your instrument (or yourself) out the window, consider joining premium to say thanks.

It's just a few bucks to make Jazzadvice even better, so we can focus on creating the most awesome jazz improvisation material on the planet for you.

Here's how it works:

The $5 a month is billed yearly using PayPal or credit card

You'll create a new Jazzadvice account, or if you've purchased from us before, use your email and password you used previously